USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of the Twenty-fourth Michigan of the Iron brigade, known as the Detroit and Wayne county regiment > Part 3
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30
HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
Bishop McCroskey, Right Reverend Lefevre, Shubael Conant, Colonel Ruehle, aldermen Joseph Godfrey, James Shearer and J. W. Purcell, Adam Elder, Gideon Campbell, Edward Kanter, Alexander Chapoton and Frederick Buhl; secretaries, Stanley G. Wight and C. Wood Davis. After the adoption of suitable resolutions, Recorder Morrow was loudly called for, and spoke as follows:
SPEECH OF COLONEL HENRY A. MORROW.
Fellow Citizens - We are here to rekindle our devotion to our beloved country which is in peril. This is the time of its destiny ; this is the crisis of its fate. From this terrible struggle it will come forth purified and respected, or it will sink into obscurity and disgrace, known on the historian's page as the weakest of human inventions. Our fathers thought they were erecting a temple of liberty which should last for ages, where oppression should be unknown and freedom find an asylum. Unless this causeless rebellion is crushed, the hopes of mankind in republican liberty are blasted. This generation of loyal citizens has assigned to it the noblest work ever intrusted to a nation -that of maintaining in its integrity, the government of the United States. A generous and intelligent people will not decline the labor.
Let us understand the issue. It is government or no government, national life and honor, or national death and disgrace. It is more -it is individual disgrace. If our Southern brethren had been menaced even, in their constitutional right to liberty or property, I should not be here to-day. By birth, by education, by sympathy and interest, I am deeply attached to the Southern people, and if the government of the United States had turned aside from its constitutional prerogatives of defending and protecting the States, and become their oppressor and destroyer, I know my duty; and as certain as I am here to-day, I should not be here, but would be found in the ranks of the Southern army !
But this was not so. The government never oppressed the South. The national statute book did not contain a law which deprived the South of any constitutional right. Out of sixteen Presidents the South has furnished eight, and while no Northern President was ever re-elected, five out of the eight from the South were re-elected. The country has been forty-nine years under Southern Presidents and only twenty-five years under Northern. It is notorious that the Southern people have enjoyed a very large proportion of the public offices. Is it not a curious fact that a people who have controlled the nation and shaped its foreign and domestic policy for two-thirds of the time, and who have never suffered a single wrong should raise their hands to strike down its flag? Could they anticipate any wrong when they commanded the two houses of Congress and could control the policy of the government? Had Lincoln been disposed to do them injustice, he was entirely at the mercy of Congress. It was not oppression, nor the fear of it, that drove the South into rebellion, but an unholy lust for power.
The war was forced upon us. The South began the conflict. The government struck no blow. It simply demanded the right to perform an act of humanity which the Southern people should have performed themselves. It asked that bread might be sent to a starving garrison. Major Anderson was nearly out of supplies, and in response to an arrogant demand for surrender, he returned the thrilling reply, "If you will wait till to-morrow noon I shall be out of provisions, and hunger will compel me to surrender !" Did they wait? No, but like savages opened their guns upon Fort
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Sumter. Their Secretary of War and Jefferson Davis made speeches at the Confederate Capital that night. The former declared that " THEY had that day begun a war, the issue of which no man could foretell "-a confession from one in authority that THEY, and not WE, were the aggressors. Now, can any man, in a situation to serve his country, hesitate as to what is his duty in this hour of danger and disaster ? Will you see your country dishonored before the world and raise no hand to save it ?
Patriotism is natural to the human heart. Love of country is one of the noblest feelings in the breast of man. It belonged to the Greek and Roman in ancient times, and it burns like a star in the heart of every lover of his country. It moved Washington amid the snows of Valley Forge, and it inspires the hearts of twenty millions of people in the loyal States. It is an instinct in the breast of every honest man. The noblest heroes in history, whose names are synonyms of courage and fidelity, have devoted their lives to their country. Hampden, and Sydney, and Russell, were patriots, and history has embalmed their names in its choicest amber. Emmet was a patriot and martyr, and his very name will ever arouse the Irish nation. Washington, first and best of men, was a patriot, and the world claims him for its own. Major Anderson is a patriot, and the children of men through generations shall read, with glowing hearts, his heroic defense of Sumter.
My young friends, I appeal to you by all that is sacred, to come forward and sustain your government. Are you a patriot? Now is the time to show it. Do you seek comfort and security for yourselves and families ? Come then, and help subdue this insurrection. Have you a pride in the greatness and respectability of your government? They are gone forever unless this rebellion is subdued. We shall sink into a fifth-rate power and be as contemptible as Mexico or Morocco. Do you wish for adventure and distinction? Here is the field in the best fed, best clothed, and most intelligent army that ever went forth to battle.
One word for myself. I am going to the field. I invite you to go with me. I will look after you in health and in sickness. My influence will be exerted to procure for you the comforts of life, and lead you where you will see the enemy. Your fare shall be my fare, your quarters my quarters. We shall together share the triumph, or together mingle our dust upon the common field. We are needed on the James River. Our friends and brothers are there. Let us not linger behind. In this time of national peril, the government turns to you. Let it not appeal in vain. [Prolonged applause.]
LAST PUBLIC SPEECH OF HON. LEWIS CASS.
Hon. Lewis Cass was loudly called for. He was too feeble to make more than a brief speech, but the immense crowd would brook no refusal from this noted descendant of a former generation. He had made Detroit his home for over half a century and had held many high positions of national trust and honor. It was his last speech in public life, and his few remarks were influential throughout the Union. The venerable statesman spoke as follows :
Fellow Citizens -Standing here and witnessing the patriotic enthusiasm of the people, my heart is too full for utterance. There is no man who feels more anxious that the Constitution shall be preserved as it was given to us by our fathers. We of this generation have a noble duty to perform for mankind. We are to preserve this fair land a heritage to our children and to freedom forever. Our fathers endured
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
HON. LEWIS CASS.
much in their struggle for independence, and shall we prove degenerate sons of those noble sires? It cannot be. The people of the North will rescue the government. [Cheers.]
SPEECH OF SHERIFF MARK FLANIGAN.
Fellow Citizens - At a time like this it behooves every man to put forth his utmost energies in defense of the government. Every man who is loyal to his once happy land and abhors rebellion, should rise to a full sense of his duty in this hour of its adversity. Judge Morrow and myself are going to raise a regiment. I hope every man will respond to his country's call. [Cheers.]
SPEECH OF HON. DUNCAN STEWART.
Fellow Citizens-I have not the language to deal a sufficiently withering rebuke to those who instigated the violence at the former meeting. This regiment must be raised. Though I cannot go myself, I have money and it shall be poured out freely in this cause. I will give five dollars to every man who shall enlist in the first company mustered into this regiment. I will give four dollars a month during the war to twenty-five families where there are four children, and two dollars a month to twenty families where there are three children, the fathers of whom shall enlist in this regiment. [Cheers.] The aldermen, as supervisors, have done much to discourage enlistments by their disreputable manner in looking after the wants of volunteers' families, who had been compelled to beg about our streets for bread, and when they applied for provisions, the answer was, 'Oh ! your husband was a drunken fellow !' Gentlemen aldermen, you have nothing to do with what difference it makes if the husband was a shiftless vagabond. I have more respect for a drunken patriot than an unpatriotic alderman. [Cheers.]
SPEECH OF HON. JAMES F. JOY.
Fellow Citizens- I am proud that I am a citizen of Detroit. That our city is loyal to the core, this meeting proves. The Constitution is in peril. It is a war, not for tariff or free trade, or sailors' rights. Before me are men of every nation. It
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depends on us whether this country shall fall and be a shame in the eyes of the world. If not, we must fight. There was a time when the Roman Republic was invaded by Hannibal. Many of the provinces revolted and joined him. The Roman armies were almost totally destroyed. They raised another army, and yet another, and won. Let us emulate their example. [A voice - 'Will you go?' ] They will not have me, but I will furnish twenty substitutes. [Cheers.] What I have is at the service of my country, if it takes every dollar. [Applause.]
Hon. C. I. Walker and others made brief, patriotic speeches, and great enthusiasm was manifested throughout the meeting. It was a great success, and if any secession scoundrels were present they wisely, for themselves, concealed the fact. The meeting was not only productive of putting a full regiment into the field in a brief period, but it stimulated enlistments throughout the State, as its details made known what efforts were made here on the Nation's border in response to the President's call for troops.
THE WAR MEETING.
Heretofore, the war meeting had been little known. Regiments in the field had been raised without excitement. Soldiers had enlisted at some recruiting office, or with some officer who appeared in town or village and quietly solicted recruits. Those who had entered the service, up to this period, seemed to have been but the surplus population, and affairs moved on in the North much as though no war existed. But this urgent call of the President for so large a number of men forthwith changed the whole order of recruiting. It was like a second Holy Land crusade, and every community was stirred to its depths. The great struggle for national life had apparently but just begun. Heroic bugle calls and war drum-beats more than ever sounded the alarm notes for a general uprising of the Nation's reserves.
And so the war meeting became a new feature and was a solemn affair. It brought deep reflection to every mind. It disarranged completely the future plans of many. It was usually held in some hall, church or schoolhouse; frequently in open air. Appeals of orators called for volunteers - not to vote for some political candidate or consider the questions of a life beyond the grave, but to hazard their lives for their country's salvation. Should we submit to national disintegration, or fight? Should we allow traitors to insult our flag and destroy the country upon the election of a President in the usual constitutional way, or fight? Must cheeks of Americans, at
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
home and abroad, tinge with shame and reproach at the conduct of traitors, or shall we fight?
Solemn reflections burdened every countenance, emphasized by the fact that the early romance of the war had passed away. Battle lists of killed and wounded appeared in almost every paper. Coffined remains of soldier-dead were borne home,-evidence of the stern reality of a fearful war. To enlist now might mean a bloody shroud, an ebbing away of life's current in old fields and ravines in the far South, as well as pillows of sorrow at home. It meant silvered heads bowed in their last grief, and the bride of a month wearing the widow's weeds. Wonder not, then at the wife's pale cheek as she notes the flushed face of her husband. She plainly reads his resolve ere he signs the enlistment roll. Yonder mother, with quivering lip, observes her youthful boy's attention to the recital of his Nation's wrongs, and pales as he acts upon the impulse to fight his country's battles, while the aged father buries his grief in thoughtful silence.
"The time has come when brothers must fight, And sisters must pray at home."
WAR MEETINGS IN WAYNE COUNTY.
And "so, for a brief period after the great war meeting on the Campus Martius, the war excitement in Wayne county exceeded anything in the annals of Michigan. Fife and drum were heard on every street, and war meetings were of daily and nightly occurrence, for recruiting the Twenty-fourth Michigan. Captain Cullen enlisted nearly his entire company the first Sunday. Factories, shipyards and foundries were closed, threshing machines stopped, grain left uncut in the field. Recruits went from farm to farm, gathering additions in each neighborhood. One Canton farmer whose boys had enlisted, said: "Why, boys, are you going to leave me in the midst of my threshing?" One of them replied: "But, father, Uncle Sam has a bigger job of threshing to do." Contractors would leave workmen upon a building in the morning, but upon returning to note the progress of their labor, would hear the sound of neither hammer nor saw. A neighbor would inform him that his men might be found enlisted over yonder, in Colonel Morrow's regiment, as they had all gone there with a recruiting officer.
Colonel Morrow announced war meetings in various parts of Detroit and Wayne county, which were addressed by himself and some of the following speakers: Mark Flanigan, Lieutenant-Governor
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Backus, David E. Harbaugh, E. N. Wilcox, C. I. Walker, Colonel Sylvester Larned, Henry C. Knight, William Jennison, Henry M. Cheever, Rev. Manasseh Hickey, Rev. Seth Reed, J. Logan Chipman, Alfred Russell, and others.
At Perkins' Hotel, on Grand River avenue, Saturday evening, July 26, was an immense gathering. The patriotic appeals reached the hearts and pockets of the multitude. The recruiting was lively for Captain Warren G. Vinton's company. One could not go because of a wife and five children, but he would contribute one-tenth of his earnings for the families of those who did go. Another had no money, but, stretching forth his brawny arm, exclaimed, "I have muscle, and my country shall have that." An enthusiastic meeting was held at Clark's Dry Dock (Springwells) the same evening.
On Monday evening, July 28, over 5,000 gathered in front of the Biddle House to hear Senator Jacob M. Howard, Hon. Rowland E. Trowbridge, Governor Austin Blair, Captain E. B. Wight, and others. Judge James V. Campbell presided. Two brass pieces were brought up from the Fort and a salute of thirty-four guns was fired.
On Wednesday evening, July 30, Degendre's Hall, in the old seventh ward, was filled, and the enthusiasm brought several recruits.
On Thursday, July 31, two spirited demonstrations were held in the Congregational church at Wayne. In the afternoon, Colonel Morrow earnestly pleaded with the wives and mothers to give up their husbands and sons for their country. Upon a vote, many women rose up who were willing to make the sacrifice. One mother of five boys arose in opposition, declaring she would disown her sons if they should go. Upon hearing that two of them had enlisted, she relented, and called God's blessing upon them. It was only a mother's excusable love. Dr. Alexander Collar presided at the evening meeting. The enthusiasm was strong and good results followed. A large number of ladies were present, who manifested their approval with smiles and tears.
On Friday, August I, a goodly number enlisted in Captain W. W. Wight's company, at a meeting at Livonia Center. The same evening a most excitable gathering was held on the corner of Beaubien and Elizabeth streets. It was dark, and a candle afforded light for signing the enlistment roll. Captain William J. Speed was the chief speaker. As the announcements of the names of recruits were made, the young men tossed their hats in the air and the old men shouted for joy.
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
On Saturday, August 2, at the Redford Center meeting, the people were inspired by the deepest sentiments of patriotic devotion, and over forty enlisted. The Methodist church of the place had been foreclosed on a mortgage, and sold back to the congregation for their
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individual notes. The holder of these notes was at this war meeting a few weeks after, and agreed to return to each man his note, who would enlist. Nearly every note was cancelled on the spot. This same evening a meeting was held at Grosse Pointe, and on Monday night, August 4, there was a fine rally at the corner of Seventh street and Michigan avenue.
The Plymouth meeting, on Tuesday, August 5, will never be forgotten while any one who was present survives. The triangular grove in the village witnessed one of the largest outpourings ever held
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RAISING THE REGIMENT.
in the county. The excitement was intense, and many affecting scenes occurred to thrill the heart as the enlistments were announced. Nearly an entire company enlisted inside of two hours amid the wildest enthusiasm. It was truly an en masse meeting, and an honor to that loyal old township.
At the Pike's Peak meeting, on Wednesday, August 6, thirty-three volunteered, one man donating a cow to the relief fund. On the same day, very successful meetings were held in Greenfield, and at Euler's Hall in Detroit.
The Dearborn meeting, on Thursday, August 7, was a general turnout, and thirty-one volunteered. Dr. Sweeney canceled all accounts against any volunteer, and gave his services free to the families of those enlisting.
At Belleville, Friday, August 8, a large open air meeting was held. Hon. C. I. Walker made the chief address, and fifteen enlisted.
At Flat Rock, on Saturday, August 9, the loyal citizens of Brownstown, Huron and Sumpter assembled in great numbers, many ladies being present and several bands of music. The ladies contributed liberally to the relief fund. Alexander Kittle could not go, but gave two cows. Lieutenant Wallace enrolled forty-seven recruits, and was tendered, through Dr. John L. Near, a sword and belt for his past services in the army.
On the same evening, at Trenton, a war meeting was held, women, children, and even Canadians from over the river contributing to the relief fund. On Monday, August II, the final meeting for filling up the regiment was held at Wyandotte, at which Captain Eber B. Ward was the leading spirit.
And thus the recruitment of the regiment proceeded. Colonel Morrow received authority to raise the regiment on Saturday, July 19, and recruiting began that day, but not till a week later, July 26, was it arranged who should try to raise companies and enlist recruits for commissions. In ten days thereafter, exclusive of Sundays, enough had enlisted for the regiment's organization. Within two weeks from the arrangement of July 26, the maximum limit was reached and the regiment mustered. Men were even turned away to other regiments. Captain Edwards recruited the last company within two days.
AT CAMP BARNS.
The Detroit Riding Park, or old State Fair Ground, was designated as the place of rendezvous and called "Camp Barns,"
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
after Henry Barns, editor of the Advertiser and Tribune. The field extended from Woodward to Cass avenue, and from Alexandrine avenue on the south to a point a few rods north of Canfield avenue. Here, on July 29, Captain Cullen's company went into camp, followed the next day by the companies of Captains Vinton and Ingersoll. By August 6, those of Captains E. B. Wight, Owen and Speed had joined the camp, which now assumed a martial aspect. The other companies came in directly after and all were lettered as follows :
Company A - Captain E. B. Wight. Company F-Captain Edwards.
B - Ingersoll.
G - Owen.
C - Crosby.
H - Vinton.
D-
Speed. I - Gordon.
E- Cullen. K- W. W. Wight.
On Wednesday afternoon, August 13, Col. J. R. Smith, U. S. A., mustered Companies A, B, D, E and G into the United States service, and on Friday, August 15, he mustered in Companies C, F, H, I and K.
The sudden manner in which those enlisting had to give up their wage-earning occupations, would have resulted in hardship to their families, had not the city and citizens of Detroit raised a relief fund to assist the families of volunteers until the paymaster came up. And thus, while not a man of the Twenty-fourth Michigan received a cent of State or County bounty, through the liberality of generous friends, a relief fund was raised for those enlisting in Detroit. This course was pursued in four or five townships, but those enlisting in the other townships received no local aid whatever.
On August 23, the allotment commission visited camp and arranged for the assignment of portions of the soldiers' monthly pay for the benefit of their families. The men were very liberal, giving nearly all their pay to those at home dependent upon them.
The few days between the mustering and day of departure were occupied with busy preparations for the field. Clothing and arms were distributed and the voice of the drillmaster was heard from daylight till dark. Relatives and friends crowded the camp daily, to complete final home arrangements with those who so suddenly were leaving their firesides for the war.
PRESENTATIONS.
Presentations were numerous. On August 18, J. Logan Chipman, on behalf of some friends, presented a sword to Captain Cullen, who replied :
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RAISING THIE REGIMENT.
Friends -There are emotions which no man can express. They are felt and buried in the grave, unknown to those who excite them. Such are mine at this moment.
On August 22, Adjutant Barns was presented with a sword by his brother, Henry Barns, who said :
Sir - For long months you have been a prisoner in rebel dungeons. May this sword witness that your own and your country's wrongs are avenged.
To which Adjutant Barns replied :
I shall observe your admonitions with all the will which my own and my country's wrongs prompt."
On the same day, H. N. Walker, for the Free Press, in the presence of Company E, gave Lieutenant O'Donnell a sword, who replied :
Sir- To be the recipient of this blade from a body with whom I have labored for years, is a happy honor. In the hands of an O'Donnell it will never cause a blush to mount the cheeks of those kind friends.
On that evening, the friends of Captain E. B. Wight presented him with a sword, who accepted, saying :
Friends and Neighbors-Going forth with hundreds of others in Detroit's favorite regiment, may it never be said that I disgraced my birthplace, and may the record show that I have proved faithful to this trust. God bless you all.
On August 23, Captain Vinton was presented with a sword by H. C. Knight, Esq., who said :
Sir-Your neighbors present you with this weapon. You understand the claims of our beloved country upon her citizens, for you have dedicated to her your life. We need not urge you to be a true soldier, for no man but a hero is expected to enlist in a Michigan regiment. May God bless you, and when this sword flashes in the face of foes, remember kindly your friends who have not the privilege of serving by your side.
Captain Vinton responded with feeling and in fitting terms.
On August 25, Captain Edwards' Company presented him with a sword through Colonel Morrow, which he accepted, saying :
Colonel Morrow and Men -I receive this sword with the sacred resolution so to use it, that neither you nor I shall ever regret your kindness. I am devoted to the cause of my country and the blade I now draw shall not be sheathed till the stars and stripes shall wave over every foot of American soil.
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
Other sword presentations were made-to Lieutenant Birrell, by his friends; to Captain Speed, by the Detroit Bar; to Lieutenant- Colonel Flanigan, a sword by the deputy sheriffs of Wayne County, and a horse by other friends ; to Doctor Collar, a sword by citizens of Wayne; to Lieutenant Farland, a sword by Company D; to Lieutenant Rexford, a sword from the Detroit Bar; to Lieutenant Dillon, a sword from the Molders' Association; to Lieutenant Yemans, a sword from friends of the First M. E. Church of Detroit. Captains Ingersoll and Owen, and Lieutenants Sprague, Hutchinson, Burchell and other officers were remembered in similar manner.
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